Examined the pics by Steve H. I have one of those on my Microwave when I turn the lights off to go to bed. It is the same size but it is rounder and a deeper red color.

It's much more striking in person, though. Even living in the city, this bright orange dot in the sky is very visible.

Guess ol' Mars just isn't photogenic.

The wonders associated with our neighboring planet certainly are not in its visual appearance in the night sky, but in the all but certainty that we will be exploring that planet on the ground within decades, amd setting up permanent colonies and working on its terraformation and the oxygenation of its atmosphere within coming centuries. A true new world it shall be.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

I like what Arnold said there...A true new world it shall be.
I have no idea why this entered my mind other than I was playing in a neat new site and this new site has nothing to do with this crazy thought.. Im tired, but..,if you are Shirley McLain, and you are looking at Mars you are so freaking happy looking at your new home, well-- and anyone else that believes in reincarnation.

In defense of Mars, professional astronomers and amateur stargazers (like me) have tried to point out that the media semi-hysteria has been misleading. While it is true that this is the closest approach since even longer than the Cubs last won something, it isn't *that* much closer. And unless you use a telescope, it's still going to look like just a very bright red-orange star. But the press has blown this thing up so much that some people are expecting to see Mars hanging in the sky the same size as the Moon. But... before you lock in your opinion, find someone with a decent telescope - there's probably an astronomy club in your area - and take a look at Mars then. It's pretty cool when seen that way.

The thing about Mars is this. Its the brightest thing in the night sky besides our Moon. Normally it is not that bright and its not easy to spot. Most people could give two shits about star gazing and looking for other planets, as it requires effort and a little geometry. With Mars being so bright and RED, the only effort needed to spot it is look in the direction that its supposed to be in.

Janelle,

My expectations that Mars will be explored and colonized by pioneers from Earth is based on scientific data in hand, with the expectation that much more will be known about that planet in coming decades.

But Mars exploration and settlement has nothing whatsoever to do with beliefs in reincarnation or other mild mental disorders.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI